Kyocera Mita 500ci Toner
TASKalfa 500ci Toner Cartridges

Kyocera Mita 500ci Printer Review

The Kyocera Mita TASKalfa 500ci multifunction color laser printer improves on the performance of the similar 400ci model by offering up to 50 pages per minute for monochrome printing, though color printing is still the same speed, at 40 pages per minute. This extra boost might be worth the price difference for some buyers, especially with the savings on Kyocera Mita 500ci printer toner.

Referenced often as the TASKalfa 500, the "ci" in its name denotes its color printing and internet fax feature, the latter of which can lessen the use of paper and toners by sending and receiving digital faxes to and from a computer directly. An ethernet port is included for connecting to a network, with options for Gigabit ethernet and even wireless sharing.

Duplex scanning isn't included as a standard feature, but users embracing digital workflows should consider the upgrade. With a 160 GB hard drive for storing digital files and the ability to perform OCR on scanned documents, sharing is easier than ever, while reducing the amount of TASKalfa 500ci toner used each month.

The copy and fax features are well-designed, with a 33.6 Kbps transfer speed for faxing and automatic or manual exposure settings for copies. The scan resolution is limited to only 600 dpi, but this shouldn't be an issue for most office scans, and would only cause issues with high-resolution photos.

The Kyocera Mita 500ci toner system uses four separate supplies: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. The black TASKalfa 500ci toner cartridge has the largest capacity, at up to 25,000 pages, while each of the color Kyocera Mita 500ci toner cartridges provide up to 18,000 pages of output before they expire.

For many buyers, the extra 10 pages per minute in monochrome printing speeds might not make the 500ci worth the upgrade, and the 400ci could be a better choice. For only a bit more, however, offices that do a lot of monochrome printing might benefit from the extra boost in productivity.